


The Perfect Scene

by stilljunhui (acyria)



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Fluff, M/M, Pining, Red String of Fate, Romance, tags will be updated as I go
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-15
Updated: 2019-05-15
Packaged: 2019-06-27 20:10:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,635
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15692538
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/acyria/pseuds/stilljunhui
Summary: Ever since he could remember, Yang Jeongin could see the red string of fate. It was an ability that had caused him his fair share of troubles in life, but by far the biggest of all came in the form of his soulmate. Try as he may to stop himself from falling too hard and too quickly, it was only a matter of time before Jeongin got swept up in the whirlwind that was Hwang Hyunjin.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm doing it. A chaptered Hyunin fic to fulfill my self-indulgent Hyunin needs, although I still have a lot of other stuff to finish so like with all my chaptered stuff: knowing me, it's not gonna be regularly updated, but it _will_ be finished, everything depends on my mood and availability tbh. I love soulmate au's so here's my take on one for Hyunin. It's my first time using the red string of fate concept though, so I hope I can execute it well enough. I'm doing Minsung as a side ship because it's about _soulmates_ and they literally call each other soulmates too, how could I not? ♡
> 
>  **Some more information:**  
>  Seniors: Chan, Woojin  
> Juniors: Minho, Changbin  
> Sophomores: Hyunjin, Jisung, Felix, Seungmin  
> Freshman: Jeongin 
> 
> Title taken from Mercy Mercedes' song of the same name!

"Yang Jeongin, are you even listening to me?"

 

He wasn't, that was for sure, but Jeongin chose to nod at his best friend. He'd like to think he earned the right to be nervous about things, given how he was finally a college student, as multiple thoughts invaded his mind as they walked. They were on the way to his school dorm on a bright Saturday morning, since he still had to officially move in before the semester started. Coming from the same neighbourhood and being in the same university himself, Seungmin had offered to help bring his stuff.

 

“I’m listening,” he added as an afterthought.

 

Despite his answer, Seungmin saw through him immediately as the older boy rolled his eyes, but decided to repeat his earlier statement regardless.

 

“As I was saying,” the brunette began again. “College is way different from high school. The subjects are harder, some professors don’t care, you’d think free time is great until you realize you’re suddenly running _out_ of time, and you’re going to meet a lot of people. Like, a lot of new people, so you’re gonna have to be careful with who you befriend, too. I won’t always be around since we don’t even have the same classes.”

 

“I’ll manage,” Jeongin replied. “I’m sociable enough.”

 

“You’re _adorable_ ,” Seungmin stressed, earning him an annoyed scowl which he pointedly ignored because that was also cute in itself. It’s not like the younger boy ever really got mad, anyway, so he was safe. “People will definitely flock towards you and I just want you to be careful.”

 

The shorter boy nodded, “I’ll be fine.”

 

“Also, you should probably keep _that_ a secret.”

 

He didn’t have to ask what _that_ was, since there was really only one thing the other boy could be talking about, anyway. 

 

For as long as he could remember, Jeongin could see the red string of fate; a thin, string of red that curled around a person's left pinky finger. The same red string that connected two destined people together, usually just a thing of myths and fairytales, but for him it had always been something very real. They only appeared whenever the two fated people were fairly near each other, so it’s not like he saw red wherever he went. It also explained why he couldn’t see his own red string just yet, since his soulmate probably just wasn’t around. 

 

He thought it was normal at first, always careful not to step on the string that connected his parents together, incase they felt it and it bothered them. He would side step or jump over it constantly as a child. It wasn't until he was questioned about his actions did he find out that not everybody can see it; and no, they didn't feel anything when Jeongin first attempted to actually touch it. He didn't either, merely seeing his hand pass through the string instead, but he saw it nonetheless. 

 

Growing up, Jeongin had also learned it was best to ignore the strings.

 

That was a lesson he had to learn the hard way, mainly since it consisted of how much he couldn’t keep his mouth shut as a child. His parents humoured him when it came to their own string, but needless to say not everybody liked having a child point out where there were red strings and even more so, where there _weren’t_ any red strings present. It was a curious thing, and he was a curious boy, but some things just weren’t meant to be shared.

 

“It’s not like people would believe me, anyway,” Jeongin found himself saying, just as the two arrived in front of the boys dormitory. He handed the guard his ID as Seungmin did the same,waited a bit before the guard could give Jeongin his keys, before the two headed to Room 137. On the way there, the younger boy picked up from where he left off. “I’m not going to announce I can see red strings, people will think I’m crazy.”

 

“I believed you though.”

 

“Only because your grandmother could see them, too,” Jeongin pointed out. 

 

The first thing Jeongin noticed upon reaching Room 137 was the distinct, sudden pull on his left hand. For a split second, he panicked, before realizing that it was just because Seungmin actually was pulling at his hand. With a breath of relief—and a personal reminder not to be so jumpy, although he blamed how their last topic were the red strings for that—Jeongin pulled his hand away before asking why the older boy was suddenly so excited. 

 

Seungmin pointed at the name card above Jeongin’s own.

 

“I know this guy! Han Jisung, he’s—“

 

“What about me?” came a voice from behind the two, making Seungmin jump and Jeongin turn towards the sound. Standing there was a boy with brightly coloured—practically orange—hair, looking at them curiously. He must have been Jisung, since he stared at Jeongin with particularly more interest for a few seconds, before speaking once more. “Are you my new roommate?”

 

The younger boy nodded, “my name is Yang Jeongin. I’m a year lower.”

 

“Well, don’t just stand there, Jeongin; make yourself at home!” Jisung said with a small chuckle as he inserted his own key into the door knob and pushed it open, walking past the two and into the room. Jeongin quickly followed suit, glad that at least his roommate seemed like a really nice and friendly person. Before he could enter fully though, he was stopped by Seungmin tugging on his shirt sleeve this time.

 

“He’s _the_ Han Jisung, one of the biggest names on campus since he already produces his own music and he’s _my_ age,” Seungmin whispered in awe. “You’re so lucky to be his roommate! Maybe he’ll even feature you on one of his songs since you’re a music major, too.”

 

Jeongin glanced back at the other boy, who seemed to have began picking some clothes off from the floor, before turning back to his friend.

 

“Maybe. I’d like to focus on passing classes first, though.”

 

The older boy coughed out a small _‘nerd’_ under his breath, which Jeongin chose to ignore in favour of entering the room some more. It wasn’t anything too big, but spacious enough to fit two people in. There was a table on each side of the room, while connected on top of each table was the bed, so it looked like each boy had their own specific side of the room. Jisung’s already had a bunch of stuff on it, from random clothes to dolls to what looked like professional equipment for his music.

 

“Sorry, I’m a bit of a mess,” Jisung said sheepishly, as he carried a pile of clothes towards his closet and dumped them inside. 

 

“It’s fine,” the younger boy assured him easily, thinking back to how his room back at home wasn’t the most organized either, but Jeongin didn’t need to expose himself by saying _that._ Next to him, Seungmin was too busy checking out the equipment to further comment about things, otherwise he would have easily mentioned something about Jeongin’s messy bed.

 

At that, Jisung grinned, “I like you already.”

 

Eventually, Seungmin had to go back his dorm building, leaving Jeongin alone with his roommate for the first time. The younger boy wasn’t entirely worried about things, since Jisung really did seem like a fairly nice guy; he asked Jeongin about where he was from, his favourite food, along with more random small talk that last a few hours until he excused himself from the room to head to the campus studio.

 

Overall, it was a good weekend, so Jeongin was feeling better about things when Monday rolled around.

 

He had almost, just almost, forgotten about his ability until Jeongin left the dorm only to be met with dozens of people walking around, surrounded by rows of prominent red strings. Some strings were thicker than most, while some were stretched thinner and thinner until it disappeared from his sight, although he knew it was still there. It was strange to see so many in one place, especially since a good handful of them didn’t even seem to know who their soulmate was—although some walked hand in hand with their soulmate, most simply walked past one another. 

 

If he were younger and didn’t know any better, Jeongin would have ran up to random people and pointed them towards the direction of their soulmate. That would be a good thing, right? He was technically helping people find their one true love, wasn’t that what everybody wanted?The answer was a surprising no; tried and tested. If he were younger, he would have also actively walked around campus trying to find his own soulmate in the sea of new people. Shouldn’t that be what _he_ wanted?

 

Sometimes, he did wish he could meet his soulmate soon.

 

Most of the time though, the answer was also a no. Jeongin would remember the various times he would so desperately wish that he would randomly meet his soulmate, only to end up with nothing around his finger at the end of the day. It came with the notion that the red string of fate was a happy fairytale he wanted to experience. As the years went by, he became aware of a harsh reality: fate can bond two people, but in the end, it’s still a human decision to actually follow through.

 

If his soulmate chose not to accept him, what could he do?

 

Despite how much he _didn’t_ want to be distracted by the red strings, Jeongin was still barely near his classroom building when the bell rang.

 

Although technically, the first bell signalled only the end of the previous class, Jeongin found himself practically rushing since he wasn’t sure if the ten minute interval between that bell and the next one would be enough time. The campus was huge, but he hoped he knew his way well enough. He must have been quite the sight—a lanky boy with braces, probably sticking out like a sore thumb being the only one who walked too quickly amidst the otherwise calm crowd. 

 

Thankfully, he made it to his desired building with a few minutes to spare, although he still had to reach his classroom all the way on the 4th floor before Jeongin would consider himself successful. 

 

He was casually walking past people when there was a tug on his left hand.

 

It couldn’t have been Seungmin that time—the boy didn’t have class yet at that time, plus Jeongin was sure he was walking alone this whole time. Nobody else he knew was around, especially since he didn’t exactly know anybody else yet except for Jisung, and maybe some of the people he was with during the campus tours, but even they weren’t exactly friends. He thought about things once, twice, before he felt the pull again and finally decided to raise his left arm in front of him.

 

For the first time in his life, Jeongin watched as the string materialized on his own hand; it wrapped around his left pinky finger delicately, and despite how he knew it wasn't really physically there, he could feel phantom sensations on his finger as if it were, similar to the earlier pull he felt. His heart began to beat faster when he realized how the string continued to lengthen as his eyes unconsciously trailed the movement. 

 

The red string didn't go very far, slipping between students as it moved, finally stopping only a few feet in front of him; Jeongin almost didn't want to look up. 

 

So he didn't. 

 

At least, not all the way; he paused at the sight of slightly muddied sneakers standing by the lockers and averted his eyes. He quickened his pace as he walked through the hallway and up the nearest flight of stairs. After all, he still had a long way to go, plus the second bell had already rang, filling Jeongin’s ears with a much needed distraction from what just happened. 

 

His soulmate, Jeongin figured, could wait until he wasn't late for class.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it for the first chapter, I hope you guys look forward to more~ ♡ 
> 
> (I'd say I'll update soon, but... I am who... I am what... A slow author, that's for sure...)
> 
> ((If I don't update quickly enough, yell at me @stilljunhui on Twt!))


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually changed the story summary shortly after I finished this chapter, since I suddenly realized this fic was going a different way from what I originally expected things to go. That said, tags will also be updated as I go. I also can't promise the plot won't change again eventually. Woops.
> 
> But also, an update! And it didn't take me over a month! ♡

For the first time in his life, Jeongin welcomed being stuck in class for hours straight. It was the perfect remedy to keep his thoughts away from anything that involved strings and soulmates. Those were the kind of thoughts he desperately tried to keep at bay as he devoted all of his attention to his professors, even if there weren’t any lessons yet with the first day of class, hanging on to anything he could. 

 

Still, he wasn’t completely successful.

 

More than just a few times, Jeongin would end up glancing back at his left hand. It looked so bare now that he’s seen what it could look like with red around it, even if it was just a few loops around his pinky finger. Maybe he shouldn’t have ran away? Although he didn’t run away, exactly, it just so happened that he was rushing to class and he technically had to go. He didn’t want to be late on the first day or anything. 

 

Right?

 

That’s what he told himself, anyway.

 

It’s not like Jeongin wasn’t happy. There was no denying that he was. He was ecstatic, even, at the idea that he actually did _have_ a soulmate. It was definitely the natural response upon knowing that you had someone who was just fated for you, an eternal bond held together by a red string that can never break, one’s true love. It’s _because_ he was so happy that it also made him scared and worried.

 

He had a soulmate who could either accept him or reject him.

 

It was a worry that went both ways. He could also just as easily dislike his soulmate. It wasn’t something Jeongin hadn’t thought about before, either. That was the reality of things, in the end. At some point, he had even come to the conclusion that if that were to happen—a sad ending, essentially—then wouldn’t things be harder for him? He’d be the one who knew all about how they were meant to be soulmates, after all. 

 

All these thoughts and he didn’t even know who his soulmate was. Would they ever even talk? Would they even meet amongst the sea of people the university had? Would they even just cross paths again? Jeongin was suddenly struck with regret that he didn’t get himself to look up.He didn’t even have a face to match. All he knew was that it was a boy who wore white sneakers that were nowhere near pristine. That applied to a good majority of the school’s population.

 

He’d have to count on the string to show up again, then.

 

By the end of his first two classes, Jeongin had managed to memorize almost everything that was on the syllabus for each class. 

 

Not exactly something that happened often, but Jeongin figured it would come in handy eventually. Hopefully, anyway, since it was a good amount of information considering how much he still thought of his soulmate regardless. With lunch around the corner, he was set to meet up with Seungmin and also get to know some of Seungmin’s circle of friends, too. Thankfully, the walk to the school cafeteria was uneventful; if Jeongin had stared at his finger the whole way there, he wouldn’t admit to it. 

 

“So, how were classes so far?” Seungmin greeted him immediately.

 

The younger boy shrugged as he took a seat across the other, glancing around and sparing his left hand one final look before keeping it clasped under the table. The movement didn’t go unnoticed by Seungmin, ever attentive to details, as his eyes widened immediately. The older boy checked to see if his friends were coming by yet before leaning in closer.

 

“You’ve met your soulmate?” He asked, as low as his voice could go.

 

“I don’t think _met_ is the right term to use,” Jeongin answered honestly, fiddling with his fingers as he remembered what happened again. His voice went softer as he continued. “I saw the string appear on my way to class. I didn’t really stop to meet him or anything.”

 

“You’re telling me you skipped meeting your _soulmate_ so you could go to _class?_ Nerd,” Seungmin said pointedly, before catching the worried look on the other boy’s face. It wasn’t like they’ve never talked about soulmates before; Jeongin used to talk about it all the time, pointing out every red string he saw, until one day he just didn’t. He knew more than anybody what was going through the younger’s head. 

 

The brunette sighed, “you’re thinking too much, Innie.”

 

“A little bit,” Jeongin easily agreed. He couldn’t help it; even in the cafeteria alone he could spot a few red strings floating about. It wasn’t as much as when he would simply be walking around campus, where more people were, but it was still more than he was used to seeing. He sneaked a glance back at his hand and sighed. If only he knew how things actually worked, like how near he really had to be to his soulmate before it’ll appear.

 

“Well, my friends could probably keep your mind off of things,” Seungmin said with a smile. “We’re a sort of mismatched group, but I’m sure you’ll fit right in.”

 

It didn’t take long before his friends began to show up.

 

Seo Changbin arrived first, immediately complaining about how his professor had given them a quiz right on the first day. Who does that? His history teacher, apparently. He took the seat next to Seungmin without realizing Jeongin was there at first, only to stop in the middle of his rambling when his gaze finally fell on the younger boy who was listening to the story rather intently. He stared at Jeongin before glancing over at Seungmin.

 

“You could have told me we were meeting your friend today.”

 

“I did,” Seungmin replied. “Changbin, this is Jeongin.”

 

 

“Hi,” Jeongin piped up before the other boy could reply. He smiled brightly—something he knew always managed to win people over, which seemed to work since the older boy ended up smiling back almost immediately—and spoke again. “Must suck to have a quiz right away, I’m glad I didn’t experience that.”

 

Changbin nodded, “thank you. I’m glad _someone_ listened.”

 

“I was listening!” Seungmin shot back.

 

“Are you fighting again?” came another voice from behind them. Jeongin watched as another figure approached the table, already carrying a plate of food. The boy shook his head as he took the remaining seat next to Seungmin, leaving Jeongin alone on his side, but that was fine since he liked seeing what happened, anyway. “It’s only the first day back.”

 

He glanced at Jeongin after he spoke, a soft smile on his lips.

 

“My name is Minho. Lee Minho, like the famous actor, but not really. Are you the friend Seungmin keeps talking about? He’s mentioned you a lot, but I never thought he’d be serious about how cute you are! Have you eaten? Probably not, since you have no plate yet, but—“

 

“We weren’t fighting,” Seungmin answered, albeit a little late, effectively cutting him off. He turned to Jeongin with a disgruntled look. “Maybe I shouldn’t have introduced you to them.”

 

The younger boy laughed, “it’s fine. I like them already.”

 

“We’re lacking one more,” Changbin said, although he smiled at what Jeongin just said. “If he decides to eat lunch today.”

 

Jeongin nodded at that, before busying himself with asking about the various food stalls around the area. The cafeteria looked a more like a mall food court than anything, with various types of food and drinks available for the students to buy. Minho immediately suggested a few of his favourites, pointing towards his own plate of food, while Seungmin suggested that Jeongin just try whatever caught his eye.

 

It was probably because he was so focused on trying to figure out which stall to eat from for his first ever college meal, that Jeongin didn’t notice the way his hands had went from hiding underneath the table to resting in front of him. He was pointing at a hamburger stall with his left hand, about to ask Seungmin if they sold good burgers, when it felt like time froze. He didn’t know when it appeared, but the red string was prominently around his finger again, leading to somewhere behind him.

 

The string was getting thicker by the second.

 

He stared, although he knew it was probably odd with how he still had his arm up and pointing, but he couldn’t help it. Seungmin definitely noticed, since he quickly pulled the younger boy’s arm down after a few seconds, and tried his best to brush it off and answer that yeah, the burgers were pretty good. By then, Jeongin was only half-listening, as the pull of the string felt stronger and stronger until—

 

“Hey, sorry for being late.”

 

His soulmate—Jeongin was sure of it, by that point, after glancing down and seeing the same muddied sneakers from earlier that day—took a seat right next to him. The string around his finger ended up winding itself behind him, only to rest neatly on the other hand that was placed on the table. His heart was pounding in his chest. Jeongin didn’t need to look across him to know that Seungmin definitely caught on, although the older boy tried not to show it.

 

“Glad you could make it,” Seungmin said, nothing in his voice betraying what he knew. “This is the friend I was talking about. Jeongin, this is Hyunjin. Hwang Hyunjin.”  


Hyunjin. It was a nice name, Jeongin thought to himself. He should probably look at the boy before things got awkward. 

 

Steeling himself for what was to come, he turned to his right and smiled brightly before anything else in an attempt to hide how nervous he was, “hi, it’s nice to meet you.”

 

The boy was _something_. That was one way to put it. Jeongin wasn’t sure if it was the whole soulmate thing that was talking when his thoughts couldn’t seem to shut up with noticing _everything_ about Hyunjin immediately. There was a mole underneath his eye. He had ear piercings, something Jeongin’s always been too scared to do just yet, but maybe one day. His left hand had a ring on it; it matched the red string pretty well.

 

There were a lot of things he could have pointed out, but his thoughts were momentarily derailed by the way Hyunjin just stared at him.

 

His smile faltered a little bit, as a million thoughts entered Jeongin’s head. Did he do something wrong _already?_ They had just met. It wasn’t going to be a love at first sight kind of thing, surely, but there was no way Hyunjin disliked him already. Right? Right. Plus he was smiling his trademark wide grin complete with his braces shining under the cafeteria lights. It had worked on Changbin earlier. Minho as well, maybe. So why—

 

“You’re really cute,” Hyunjin said after a moment’s pause, smirking a little. “Are you joining our group of friends?”

 

Before Jeongin could reply—not that he could, with how flustered he immediately got—Changbin was already speaking up.

 

“He’s here to combat all the bad you do, don’t taint him,” the older boy teased, earning him a playful eye roll from Hyunjin. 

 

“I don’t do anything _bad_ ,” he replied, grinning. “I don’t know why I was given that reputation. I’m perfectly harmless. Don’t I look harmless, Jeongin?”

 

The younger boy’s mind lagged for a moment before realizing Hyunjin was asking him, to which he quickly nodded. If he really thought about it though, there was nothing _harmless_ about the way Hyunjin was affecting him. Jeongin wasn’t the tongue tied type of boy, although he may appear shy, yet he couldn’t bring himself to say anything. He did, however, finally meet Seungmin’s careful gaze though and knew he was going to hear from the older boy eventually.

 

At least Seungmin was around to tell him more about Hyunjin, if ever, and the apparent _reputation_ the boy had. 

 

“See, even he agrees,” Hyunjin said, laughing a little.

 

Eventually, each boy got up to buy their own lunch, save for Minho who was delegated the task of staying behind and watching their stuff since he already ate. The youngest of them all took the time to survey the other boys, wondering if maybe he was just making a big deal out of Hyunjin for no apparent reason. Seungmin was, well, Seungmin. Jeongin didn’t know how else to describe his best friend. Changbin, in the short time they’ve spent so far, proved to be quite the character as well. It was clear to him that Minho had a world of his own to match what could easily be called pretty boy looks.

 

Apart from that, Jeongin felt nothing. No rushing sensation, no butterflies in his stomach, nothing that could even begin to go against the sudden impact Hyunjin had on him.

 

He stared at the string still around his finger and wondered if he had the same effect on the older boy. Maybe he was just reacting as such since he was aware of the red string? It could be his mind playing tricks with his heart, making him feel things for a person he just met just because he knew they were apparently meant to be. Jeongin hated overthinking things, but he supposed it was better than entering things blind.

 

“Are you coming, Jeongin?”

 

The boy snapped out of his thoughts at the sound of his name, “what?”

 

Seungmin gave him a _look_ , one that meant everything from _we’ll talk later_ to y _ou’re being so obvious right now_ , before repeating what had apparently been discussed. The others apparently had a pretty long break in their schedule for the day and wanted to hang out at the mall while they still could before they all got swamped by school work. Changbin briefly mentioned how he already had a quiz, so he needed to destress.

 

“It’ll be fun,” Hyunjin added, grinning.

 

Every fiber of Jeongin’s being wanted to say yes, after hearing that.

 

“I have class,” he said instead, biting at his lower lip as he was genuinely sad and worried that the answer would disappoint the rest. He couldn’t bring himself to look at Hyunjin as he spoke, so he stared at Changbin instead, since the other boy was the one directly across him. “Maybe next time?”

 

“Yeah, there’s always next time,” Changbin said, patting the younger boy’s arm that was on the table between them, smiling warmly.

 

By the time everybody was done eating, Seungmin had managed to wave the boys off, claiming that he was going to stay and wait for Jeongin’s next class with him. Thankfully, the rest followed without thinking twice, although Jeongin knew why the other boy was staying behind. As if to remind him of the reason, he felt the string around his finger pull a little when Hyunjin stood up to leave. 

 

“Oh, I don’t think I said it earlier,” Hyunjin began, catching Jeongin’s attention as the latter immediately looked up as he spoke. The older boy grinned at that, suddenly pinching Jeongin’s cheeks for a split second as he continued, “it’s nice meeting you, too. See you around!”

 

Soon after the other boys left, Jeongin turned towards Seungmin, voice frantic, “tell me he does that often.”

 

“He does that often,” Seungmin said dutifully, rolling his eyes soon after. “I’m not kidding, that’s just how he is, you get used to it. Shouldn’t you thank me for essentially bringing you closer to your soulmate whom you literally ignored just this morning—that’s besides the point now. Seriously, Jeongin? Hwang Hyunjin?”

 

“You say that as if I _chose_ this,” the younger boy whined, face still flushed from earlier’s contact. Suddenly conscious, he continued. “Why? Is there something wrong? Is he _that_ bad?”

 

“Oh, nothing’s wrong. Everybody loves him. He’s the school enigma; popular yet not really, well-known but mysterious, sometimes he’s in class and sometimes he’s just everywhere else. Even as his friend, I can’t really place Hyunjin anywhere exactly,” Seungmin explained, hands gesturing wildly as if to prove his point. “I think anybody can agree that he doesn’t seem like the type to be tied down though, you know?”

 

“No, I don’t know,” Jeongin replied without much bite. “I just met him, red string and all.”

 

“My point is,” the older boy began to say seriously, making Jeongin nervous for a moment, before Seungmin broke into a wide grin. “You’re on your own here, Innie.”

 

Jeongin groaned. Maybe he needed new friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter really just wrote itself. I didn't think it would reach nearly 3k words. That said, this chapter also finally introduced Changbin, Minho, and of course, Hyunjin himself! I hope it was good enough to start things off between Hyunjin and Jeongin. Next chapters should have more of them (that's my plan, as of now) so yeah~


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> School made it a lot harder for me to do anything with such little free time (or none at all tbh), but I recently told myself I'll write _something_ and this fic called out to me especially with the multitude of recent Hyunin events I manage to see when I decide to check!!! 
> 
> Everybody say it with me: Hyunjin! Finally! Succeeded! In! Kissing! Jeongin! (His neck, at least, which is honestly still something).
> 
> That said, I hope this chapter is alright,,,, I feel a bit rusty from how long I wasn't able to write ; n ;

In just the span of a few hours that day, Jeongin went from dutifully listening in class to getting his mind derailed every few minutes. Both cases were caused by his soulmate, except now it was harder to keep his thoughts focused on what was happening in class. His earlier goal of memorizing all his syllabi for the semester went ignored as well. He actually had a name and face to go with his worries, now.

  


Every time he tried to stare at the whiteboard, he would instead end up with Hyunjin’s smiling face infiltrating his thoughts.

  


Even when Jeongin would busy himself by thinking of something, anything else, little bits of what happened during lunch time would make itself present in his head until he eventually just gave up. There was no way he was going to get over meeting his soulmate that quickly, apparently. It didn’t help that he could still feel a sort of phantom touch from when his cheek was pinched; a gesture that would normally make him shove Seungmin off if the other boy did it, but for some reason, he was powerless to stop Hyunjin.

  


It was just because the other boy caught him off-guard.

  


Right?

  


At least his classes that day ended without seeing the older boy again, as they were probably still at the arcade. Seungmin eventually caught up to them, too, so there was nothing left for Jeongin to do except head back to the dorm. He was technically still invited, but he also wasn’t sure how to get to the arcade exactly, which was a good enough excuse. Hopefully they’d be okay with him not going.

  


“You look like you’re in some kind of crisis,” Jisung greeted the moment Jeongin returned to their shared dorm. Things didn’t go quite as bad as he thought it would, if Jeongin had to be honest. Meeting his soulmate made him a nervous wreck, but nothing embarrassing happened—he hoped, anyway—in the hour or so they spent before Hyunjin left with the rest. He didn’t know what facial expression he must have had for Jisung to comment such, though.

  


Maybe he just looked troubled overall, which wasn’t exactly wrong.

  


When the younger boy took some time to reply, Jisung continued, “I mean, you don’t _have_ to tell me, but we are roommates after all. I’d help if I could.”

  


“It’s not that,” Jeongin quickly began to say, dumping his stuff by his table before climbing up to his bed, so he was level with the other. He glanced at Jisung to find the older boy still staring at him expectantly from his side of the room, yet free of judgment. It made him feel a little bit better as he continued, although still cautious as he tried to start with his problem. Go big or go home, he figured in the end.

  


“Jisung, do you believe in soulmates?”

  


There was barely a pause before the orange haired boy grinned and nodded.

  


“Of course!” He said brightly, while the weight Jeongin had on his chest lifted immediately at that. Jisung continued, leaning forward from his bed now, much more interested than before. “My parents used to tell me how they met and fell in love; my mother could see this thing called the red string of fate. They could have been lying to me, but I love the story regardless. So yeah, I believe in soulmates. Do you have love problems already, Jeongin?” 

  


“I don’t have _love_ problems,” Jeongin was quick to explain, although there was a traitorous voice at the back of his head that said that technically, it was. At least, it was supposed to be. He was old enough to know that while he knew that Hyunjin was his soulmate, that didn’t mean he was in love. Slightly attracted, maybe. A little more than just slightly, maybe. 

  


Jisung merely grinned wider, “sure, as if soulmates and love don’t go hand in hand. What’s the problem, then?”

  


“I’m not sure if it’s a problem to begin with,” the younger boy finally said, as if coming to the realization himself. Meeting one’s soulmate was the opposite of a problem. Still, there was only so much he could tell the other boy, after all, even if Jisung did appear to believe in the red string of fate as well. They just met a few days ago; Jeongin didn’t feel like opening up _that_ part of himself just yet. “I mean, it’s definitely not. Actually, it’s a little complicated.”

  


The older boy nodded solemnly, “love is indeed complicated.”

  


“It’s not love!” Jeongin repeated again frantically, causing the other boy to cackle at his outburst. He flushed at the reaction, soon realizing that Jisung was teasing him by that point, but the exchange did strangely manage to leave him feeling better than before. He finally allowed himself to grin despite himself. “Stop teasing, I won’t tell you anything anymore.”

  


“Fine, I’ll be nice,” Jisung said, raising his hands in mock surrender. “You’re looking better already, though. Can I help with your not-a-love-problem problem, then?”  


The younger hesitated for a moment, suddenly chickening out of telling Jisung the complete details, before shaking his head, “it’s nothing, really. I just met someone today and felt a little weird about things.”

  


“Soulmate kind of weird?”

  
“ _Different_ kind of weird,” Jeongin relented, allowing at least that detail. “So, maybe? I believe in soulmates, too, that’s why. I may just be overthinking things.”

  


“Well, if I have any advice as an older and wiser sophomore student,” the orange haired boy began to say, adopting a tone similar to that of an old man, making Jeongin giggle a little. “Like I always say, especially when it comes to love, you lose all the shots you don’t take.”

  
The other boy snickered, “that doesn’t sound very original, Jisung.”

  


“Take it or leave it, kid,” Jisung countered with an easy grin. 

  


“Sounds like an advice born out of experience,” Jeongin teased, earning a nervous chuckle from the older boy, which only intrigued the brunette further now that the tables were suddenly turned. “Love problems, Jisung?”

  


“Let’s save my story for another day, I think we’ve dealt with enough,” the other boy said dismissively, flipping over on his bed so that he was lying down on his stomach. Jisung gave an exaggerated sigh as he stared at his laptop screen, “it’s just the first day back and I already have homework. How’s college treating you so far?”

  


While the change of topic was obvious, it wasn’t like Jeongin minded, so he accepted and began to talk about his classes so far. 

  


At least, as much as he can remember from what happened that day before his thoughts were infiltrated by a certain Hwang Hyunjin.

  


The next day, Jeongin walked to his first class with more careful steps that before. He was still distracted by all the red strings he saw, but what took up most of his focus was staring at his own hand. He could still remember being much younger than he was then, staring at the same hand and wishing the next person he met would be his soulmate. It was a stare filled with hope and curiousity. 

  


Now, he stared at his hand with a sense of anxiety.

  


Surely the campus would be big enough that he wouldn’t just randomly bump into Hyunjin, right?

  


Wrong.

  


No sooner did Jeongin begin to think he could get to his building without a soulmate incident, did he start to see the telltale signs of the string wrapping around his finger. It trailed in front of him as he absentmindedly walked towards his destination, only half aware of avoiding bumping into people. He was so fixated on where the string would lead, heart racing, that he did end up bumping into somebody eventually.

  


“Sorry—“

  


A familiar chuckle sounded from above him, as Hyunjin—it could only be Hyunjin, since the string stopped unraveling at that very moment to—reached out to steady Jeongin, who very nearly tripped over his own feet in his attempt to move away from the boy he was so desperately trying _not_ to run into; at least alone, since he figured he would feel slightly more comforted with Seungmin around.

  


“You should be more careful, Jeongin,” the older boy said, amusement clear in his voice.

  


Jeongin finally allowed himself to look up and meet the other’s eyes, which were sparkling with mirth. 

  


“Sorry, Hyunjin, I was a bit distracted,” he replied; Jeongin was also fairly tempted to add that he was distracted _because_ of the older boy himself, but managed to hold his tongue before he could embarrass himself further. Thankfully, the other boy didn’t seem to notice the internal conflict Jeongin had as Hyunjin merely grinned in response.

  


“No worries, I’m glad I bumped into you actually,” Hyunjin began to say, before pausing with an even wider grin. “Or well, that you bumped into me.” 

  


The younger boy blushed slightly at the statement, saying nothing as he waited for Hyunjin to continue.

  


“Since you’re new to the university, I’ll take it that you haven’t tried the best milk tea ever known to man yet.”

  


“I guess not, if it’s exclusive here,” Jeongin replied, unsure where the conversation was going now that milk tea was suddenly the topic, but it wasn’t like he wanted to question Hyunjin either. The first bell of the morning sounded, meaning he had ten minutes left to walk to his class, but his feet remained planted even if the rest of his body wanted to run away. 

  


“It’s a small store a block away from university,” the older boy said brightly. “I was heading there just now since I needed a quick morning fix. It’s like my coffee, at this point. Wanna come with me?”

  


The right answer, Jeongin knew, was to decline. He had class in what was probably five minutes by then, which still required climbing two flights of stairs. Not to mention, he wondered briefly whether Hyunjin had classes himself, too. It wouldn’t be hard to shake his head and say he had class, that he definitely didn’t want to miss. There would probably be more chances to say yes to Hyunjin.

  


He also heard a voice in his head that sounded suspiciously like Seungmin saying _‘nerd’_ that made him rethink his decision.

  


Seungmin’s grandmother always said that the hard thing with having the red string, knowing it was there and all, was that saying no was close to impossible when you could physically _feel_ the pull of the string. It brought you to wherever your soulmate was, wherever your soulmate wanted to go, pulling not just your finger but occasionally even your heart. It was hard to miss, even harder to ignore, and Jeongin never knew how serious she was until that very moment.

  


“Sure, I’ll go with you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're getting into more Hyunin centric chapters now eyyy


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> honestly. my chaptered fics. are all yelling at me. crying. pleading.  
> but then i felt like this one in particular could use the update, so here i am!  
>   
> heads up that this chapter is kinda short and sweet ~~like changbin~~ since i just REALLY wanted to update this and didn't want to feel super pressured to make a long chapter, so i cut it where i found it fit. hopefully it still satisfies the need for hyunin tho, since i'm working on that slow build ;)

The walk to the milk tea store went normal enough.

 

They were just two regular boys, recent friends, who decided to walk together. They made small talk along the way, too; mainly Hyunjin asking questions and Jeongin doing his best to answer them without tripping over his words, occasionally asking the same thing back and working from there. From any outsider’s point of view, it would have _looked_ normal, but in the younger boy’s head the whole exchange was anything but. 

 

Mainly because the whole way there, Jeongin was painfully aware of the red string that connected them together, ever present even when he tried his best to focus on the rest of his surroundings. It was hard to miss the bright red from the corner of his eyes and even harder to keep his eyes from flitting towards it. Whenever he wasn’t preoccupied with noticing the string, he would end up distracted by Hyunjin instead.

 

The older boy’s voice, his lips the way his eyes crinkled when he laughed—Jeongin took it all in and hoped he wasn’t so obvious about it.

 

“What time do you have class?” Hyunjin asked, just as he stopped in front of a quaint little store, soon opening the door for the both of them as Jeongin mumbled a quick thank you, following after him. There were only a handful of people inside, since the time was still too early for most people to decide to get milk tea. There wasn’t a line when they entered which seemed to please the older boy who made a beeline for the counter.

 

“1PM” Jeongin answered, following after him. He was _technically_ supposed to have class right at that moment, but Hyunjin didn’t need to know that. “What do you usually get here?”

 

“Roasted milk tea with pearls,” he answered promptly with a bright grin. “You should try it!”

 

Squinting at the board, Jeongin took some time to survey the menu even if he knew he was going to end up following the older boy’s lead again, anyway. 

 

“I might without the pearls,” he finally said, catching the bewildered look on Hyunjin’s face as he said so and quickly realized the reason why, “they’ll get stuck on my braces, so I don’t get pearls. Maybe when I take them off.”

 

That seemed to appease the other boy, who nodded immediately in understanding. He went up to the counter and gave their order after Jeongin handed him money. The younger boy also noticed that the girl who manned the cash register was definitely giving Hyunjin heart eyes, even if Hyunjin himself didn’t seem to pay much attention to her, which left a weird prickling sensation in his heart that can really only be described as jealousy.

 

Well, jealous that the girl could be so open about her attraction.

 

A part of him also felt glad that Hyunjin didn’t notice, but Jeongin did his best not to focus on that part of himself. Actually, he didn’t want to focus on being jealous, either. It was pretty rare for him to even feel such a thing; he grew up pretty content with life, hardly the greedy kind, but all of a sudden his soulmate shows up and Jeongin is left for the first time just wanting _more_. The feeling co-existed with how much he _didn’t_ want to feel that way, mentally scolding himself for letting a flimsy invisible-to-most string control him all of a sudden.

 

“Here’s your orders,” the girl from earlier called out, handing Hyunjin the drinks with a hopeful smile. 

 

Still oblivious to what was happening, Hyunjin smiled warmly at her and took the drinks, their fingers touching for a slight moment that made something in Jeongin’s stomach lurch uncomfortably. He tried to pass it off as nothing more than sudden dislike that the red string of fate was so close to someone else; if he was going to be childish about it, he would have also said that he noticed the string move away from the girl, but that was too much even for him.

 

“Here you go,” Hyunjin announced, handing Jeongin his drink. “Best milk tea _ever_.”

 

“Thanks,” the younger boy replied, trying to match the other’s enthusiasm. 

 

The milk tea was, actually, a notch above previous ones that Jeongin had tried. When he brought this up shyly with Hyunjin, he got a bright smile back, followed by the older boy gushing about all the other different drinks that the store has and how much they should try it next time. The way he said next time was almost like he was positive Jeongin would come with him again, and the younger boy was thinking the same.

 

That maybe, just like earlier that day, he would find it rather hard to say no.

 

For a brief moment, Jeongin thought things were going to go back to feeling normal again. 

 

By that, he meant that he could focus on the conversation rather than the string, even if that meant staring at Hyunjin’s lips every few seconds. They were standing a little more than a foot apart, both leaning against the table that was thankfully tall enough to not be uncomfortable, even if there were free chairs around. Jeongin noticed that by staying where they were, they also stayed away from the others who were already in the store. Almost like it was more private.

 

“So you’ve known Seungmin for a long time, yeah?” Hyunjin asked, prompting the younger boy to nod. “Childhood friends?”

 

“We grew up in the same neighbourhood, but we weren’t exactly friends from the start,” Jeongin began, smiling a little as he remembered the way he and Seungmin used to bicker nonstop. Well, more like Jeongin bickered with him to the best of his abilities, which didn’t really do much. Even as kids, Seungmin had a tendency to cling to him, a habit that didn’t really disappear as they grew older. 

 

“At some point, I just accepted that he was always there,” the younger boy joked, chuckling to himself before he noticed the way Hyunjin was staring at him. Jeongin cleared his throat awkwardly, “uhm, so yeah, that’s how I’m still friends with Seungmin.”

 

After a few seconds that felt like it stretched _forever_ , Hyunjin took a long sip from his milk tea, suddenly looking serious.

 

“I wish we met earlier.”

 

Jeongin was momentarily glad he decided not to get the pearls, since he was pretty sure hearing _that_ would have made him choke on the little round balls, which would have been way more embarrassing than just spluttering like a fool. At least he could still somehow pretend that the milk tea didn’t go down the wrong way. Thankfully, the other boy didn’t seem to notice his reaction, as Hyunjin continued.

 

“There’s something about you,” the taller boy began to say, stepping closer to Jeongin all of a sudden; an action that usually made the other person back up, but the younger found himself frozen in place instead. Hyunjin continued to move closer, each step matching his words until he was only a few inches away. “I can’t explain it, but from the moment we met, it’s like I was drawn to you. Weird, right?”

 

Honestly? Jeongin wanted to say no. 

 

He wanted to say that it wasn’t weird because he felt the same, but then he would have to explain the string, and then explain that _hey, maybe you’re only feeling that way_ because _of the string_ and _I don’t know if you actually like-like me_ and vice versa. He did feel a surge of reassurance that he wasn’t the only one with unexplainable thoughts and feelings; even more so that he wasn’t the only one with sudden attractions.

 

With all the thoughts brewing in his head, a shaky nod was all Jeongin trusted himself to do, “y-yeah.”

 

“Anyway,” the other continued, keeping the same distance—or lack of it, rather. A bright smile was on his face now, different from his earlier expression, which still did nothing to calm Jeongin’s racing heart. A little warning would have been nice. Actually, a warning label should have come with Hyunjin’s whole being. “I told Minho I was dropping by his room before lunch. Wanna come with and then go for lunch together?”

 

“Sure,” Jeongin said, glad his voice was steadier this time around. 

 

If Hyunjin noticed the sudden blush on his cheeks, the older boy didn’t point anything out.

 


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> after months, I'm back to this story! I kept trying to write this chapter but nothing ever flowed properly until today. also, so many things happened since I last updated (like Jeongin getting his braces removed, dying his hair, etc.), but aaaahhh my love for them remains stronger than ever. I just wish it translated into my writing because I also have too many hyunin one shot drafts,,, sigh.

It was easier ignoring Hyunjin when there were other people around, but that came with a lot of self control on Jeongin’s part. Being in Minho’s room with Changbin around as well, he was able to at least keep himself occupied in a conversation with the latter rather than keeping his eyes on his soulmate. Granted, the red string was still distracting, but there were a lot of other colours in the room that made the bright red almost blend into their surroundings.

 

“You had milk tea without us?” Minho asked, feigning a look of hurt.

 

“You guys had class,” came Hyunjin’s immediate answer. “Jeongin was lucky that he had free time.”

 

For once, the younger boy was glad Seungmin wasn’t around, otherwise his cover would have been blown. None of the other boys knew his schedule. So he nodded along to what Hyunjin said, smiling whenever the upperclassmen complained some more, and laughing whenever someone cracked a joke. It was weird to think that he had met them only the day before, since he was feeling more comfortable as time passed.

 

They met up with Seungmin in the cafeteria when lunch came around, who clearly looked surprised to find Jeongin already with his friends.

 

While Hyunjin bickered with Changbin about which food stall was best, Seungmin stared at his best friend with a pointed look.

 

“Did you see them on your way here or something?”

 

“Well,” Jeongin started, his eyes darting around nervously. “I went to this milk tea place.”

 

“With?”

 

“Hyunjin.”

 

“But your cla—“

 

His class should have ended just before lunch. Jeongin knew that was what Seungmin was about to say, if it weren’t for the way the younger immediately pulled up his best puppy dog eyed look with a silent plea to drop the topic. It was dropped, thankfully, for now. At least the younger boy can argue that he actually chose his soulmate instead of classes this time around, which meant he shouldn’t be called a nerd.

 

“Let’s make Jeongin judge,” Hyunjin said, loud enough for the others to hear him.

 

“What am I judging?” The freshman asked, noting the way Changbin immediately agreed, before disappearing with Hyunjin toward the food stalls, neither of them answering. Jeongin turned towards Minho, who was the only one actually listening to the two earlier, but even he looked lost. The brunette shrugged apologetically at Jeongin’s confused look.

 

A few minutes later, both boys returned with a tray of food. 

 

“This is my favourite stall here,” Changbin said, sitting across the younger boy and placing a tray of what looked like _tteokbokki_ in front of them. “So far, anyway.”

 

“It’s only his favourite because he hasn’t tried anything else,” Hyunjin said teasingly, taking his seat next to Jeongin again. He placed his own tray on the table, where a plate with a heaping bunch of fries drizzled with cheese lay. It also looked like it had bacon bits, beef bits, and some other kind of sauce. With the way smoke tendrils floated from the warm dish, it looked extremely tempting. 

 

The older boy must have noticed the way Jeongin was staring and grinned smugly.

 

“Looks like I win already, Binnie.”

 

“Who chooses rice cakes over everything else in this cafeteria, anyway?” Seungmin added. “Plus, it’s so overpriced here. I could get a bigger serving on the streets outside.”

 

“You’re being biased because you don’t even like _tteokbokki_ that much!” Changbin complained, but didn’t say anything else as he accepted his immediate defeat, much to Hyunjin’s delight. The latter laughed, an almost childish giggle that didn’t completely match his usual cool aura. It looked like his natural state, though; that was how Jeongin saw it as his eyes glanced towards the older boy, once again finding it hard to look away.

 

When their eyes met, Jeongin tried to think of something to say.

 

“Uhm, which stall is this from?”

 

“Second from the right,” Hyunjin answered. 

 

Just when the younger boy nodded and stood up, he was stopped by a fingers curling around his wrist, pulling him back down. Yang Jeongin nearly fell over in his attempt to sit down quickly, his mind processing the way Hyunjin’s left hand—red string and all—was still holding onto him even when he had sat back down. It may have just been his imagination though, the way things felt like Hyunjin was holding for much longer than he should have, pulling back a few seconds too late.

 

“You can have this one,” the older boy said, pushing the tray towards Jeongin. “Take it as a welcome to university treat from an upperclassman.”

 

The younger boy was about to decline, after taking a few more seconds to process what was happening, but Hyunjin was already standing up from his seat.

 

“Also, I’ve got somewhere I have to be, so I don’t think I can eat anyway,” he said simply, flashing the rest a quick smile before walking off before anybody could ask. 

 

Jeongin watched him leave without much thought, his eyes trained on the red string that grew thinner as the older boy disappeared from the area until it vanished from his sight as well. When he finally turned back to the rest of the guys he was with, he was surprised to find that none of them seemed confused. He suddenly remembered something along the lines of Changbin wondering whether Hyunjin would even eat lunch with them yesterday, which meant it must have been a common occurrence by now. 

 

As if to help answer his silent questions, Seungmin sighed loudly.

 

“Does anybody know where he’s off to now?”

 

“Oh, he got a note in his locker earlier,” Minho said noncommittally, taking a bite from his burger, which he must have gotten up to buy during Jeongin’s dazed moments because the younger boy doesn’t remembering seeing Minho get up from his seat. Actually, he tended to miss most of the older boy’s actions, now that he thought about it. However, with the current topic at hand, the junior had Jeongin’s full attention.

 

Changbin grunted, “already? It’s just the second day.”

 

“You know how they are with him.”  


Immediately, Jeongin turned towards Seungmin, waiting for his best friend to explain things like he usually did especially considering how he was the one who dragged the younger boy with him in the first place. This time, however, there was a distinct hint of hesitation before he spoke, as if he was also carefully gauging Jeongin’s reaction to his words. 

 

“Another confession?” He asked, mostly for Jeongin’s sake. 

 

“Yup,” Minho answered. “I think she’s in my year.”

 

It took a while for the pieces to click, leaving Jeongin with an uncomfortable feeling brewing inside of him. He picked at the fries Hyunjin left him, although he was feeling less excited to eat it by that point. He should have expected it, really, with the way Seungmin described the boy. It was just his luck to have the campus crush as his soulmate, huh? Even the girl back at the milk tea store had seemed smitten by Hyunjin immediately.

 

He affected everybody around him, it seemed. Not just his soulmate.

 

Jeongin thought he would feel better with that realization, but he really didn’t.

 

The dark-haired boy glanced at his left hand and found himself wishing he could still see the red string around his pinky. It felt like a sad attempt to feel better about things, though. A superficial way of binding them together without any real commitment. At the end of the day, they had just met. Jeongin was just thinking too much; even worse, he was _feeling_ too much. All because of a stupid red thread that most people don’t even believe in. 

 

Nobody but Seungmin noticed the way he didn’t talk much that lunch time, absentmindedly eating his fries, despite how it’s gotten cold. He still commented on things here and there, but Jeongin found himself still feeling a little less than okay. By the time the bell rang, he tried his best to pick himself up long enough to say goodbye to the two juniors, leaving him with Seungmin who offered to stay with Jeongin again.

 

“Innie,” the brunette said, voice soft. “You’re bothered by something.”

 

“It’s nothing important,” Jeongin answered immediately, meaning every word.

 

Seungmin sighed, “if it makes you feel better, he never says yes to anybody. Remember when I said he’s not the type to be tied down? He only meets with them so he can properly say no. Heart of gold, that guy. He’s not all bad, I guess.”

 

The younger boy could tell that most of Seungmin’s words were an attempt to make him feel better, both about his soulmate being Hwang Hyunjin and also about how much the latter was wanted around campus. It wasn’t like Jeongin looked down on himself or anything, but he was young and inexperienced, the type of person most people saw as a kid. Would Hyunjin see him the same way? The thought didn’t sit well with him at all.

 

“You went to get milk tea with him earlier?”

 

“Oh,” Jeongin said, a little bit sheepish now that he remembered. “Yeah. I skipped class.”

 

“Guess you’re not that big of a nerd after all, Jeongin.”

 

“I guess.”

 

Still, for the rest of the day, he found himself listening more attentively in class than ever. Something about the way Hyunjin may have been his soulmate, but not exactly _his_ , seemed to work wonders in clearing Jeongin’s mind. He was back to aimlessly memorizing his syllabus, taking random notes that will probably end up useless since things just started, and overall, not looking at his left hand.

 

When he returned to his dorm room at the end of the day, Jeongin was greeted by his roommate saying the same thing as the day before.

 

“Back in a crisis?”

 

The younger boy shook his head at Jisung as he climbed up to his bed and flopped down, stomach first, but the other clearly didn’t buy it.

 

“My bad, you look like you’re in an even _bigger_ crisis than before.”

 

Jeongin lifted his head to find Jisung staring at him again, in the same way he alway seemed to, with expectant eyes. Still free of judgement, but this time, there may have been a hint of worry in his features, too. Suddenly, the freshman felt bad that he was dragging his roommate into his pointless worrying as he sat up properly so he could explain. Immediately, Jisung placed his laptop to the side and mirrored Jeongin’s posture.

 

Now sitting on their beds, facing each other, Jeongin thought over his problem again.

 

“I’m back to overthinking things.”

 

“Figures. It’s only been a day, after all,” Jisung said with a look of understanding. “Did you shoot your shot, though?”

 

“No,” the younger boy said. He thought over the possibility of him ever telling Hyunjin that _hey, we’re soulmates_ and immediately cringed. It wasn’t something everybody just took lightly or even seriously. Just because he had friends like Seungmin and Jisung who took it without a problem, doesn’t mean everybody else will. Jeongin knew that for a fact. So he sighed again and shook the thought out of his head. 

 

“I just don’t want this problem,” he continued, pouting a little. “It’s only the second day of school.”  


Jisung nodded, “you the type to focus on studies? Not let love get in the way of things?”

 

“You can say that,” Jeongin found himself saying, not even bothering to correct Jisung about using the L-word again, since the older boy looked like he understood things once more. He was the best composer on campus, after all. Maybe there really was some story behind that, but the younger boy didn’t want to pry. Besides, he doesn’t think he could give much advice in that field anyway, since he was having troubles of his own.

 

“Keep your chin up, Jeongin,” the older boy said. “Things will get easier eventually.”

 

He hoped that was true.

 

Just as Jeongin was about to open his laptop and start on his homework, wanting nothing more than to drown himself in readings, he felt his phone vibrate on the bed next to him. An unknown number was flashing on the screen as he debated whether he should take the call. He didn’t remember giving his number out except for the student list in some of his classes. Maybe it was a classmate, then?

 

“Hello?” He answered.

 

“Hey, Jeongin. Know who I am?”  


The voice on the other end was light and smooth, catching the brunette off-guard as his brain immediately linked the tone of voice to the only person he knew who spoke that way. 

 

Also the last person he expected to call.

 

“H-Hyunjin?”

 

“Great!” The older boy sounded genuinely pleased, obvious even over the phone. There was a pause before he continued, “I got your number from Seungmin. You up for a tour of the campus? He mentioned how he hasn’t really shown you around. It’s late, I know, but we can grab dinner if you haven’t eaten yet, too. What do you say, Innie?”

 

The use of his nickname caught Jeongin off-guard, but not as shocked as he would have been considering how everything else Hyunjin said beforehand was already a big surprise. Why would the older boy offer him a tour? He glanced at the wall clock their dorm had and felt even more confused. It was just a little bit past 6PM. Last night, dinner consisted of food that Jisung had delivered. Jeongin was thinking of doing the same that night, until the call. 

 

He must have taken too long to reply, since Hyunjin’s voice came on again.

 

“Or you’re busy already, which is cool. The offer could stand for another night.”

 

“No, I’m not busy, it’s just that—” Jeongin found himself saying despite himself, stopping abruptly as he thought of what to say next. His eyes darted around the room and landed on his roommate, who was trying hard not to look like he was eavesdropping and failing terribly. Upon being caught though, Jisung merely gave a toothy grin and thumbs up, before waving his hand in a shooing motion. 

 

“Just that?” Hyunjin prompted.

 

“I don’t want to take up your time,” he ended up saying, which was the truth, anyway.

 

The chuckle that he received sounded deeper over the phone.

 

“I offered, so it’s no problem. I’ll take it as a yes, then?”

 

“Okay.”

 

“I’ll meet you by the school fountain. See you, Innie!”

 

With that, Jeongin put his phone down and stared at it, still in disbelief. First the impromptu milk tea trip, and now what, a tour around campus? What was even there to see around school? He already knew where his classroom buildings were along with some of the more important buildings, like the cafeteria and library; what else was there to see? In the midst of his thinking, he almost didn’t notice the way Jisung was looking away from his laptop again.

 

“I don’t mean to pry, but since you’re right there and I couldn’t help overhearing,” the older boy said, unashamed in the slightest. “Did I hear you say Hyunjin earlier?”

 

Right. They were in the same year.

 

Jeongin nodded, “yeah. My best friend—Seungmin, he was here with me the other day—is friends with him and I got dragged into their friend group.”

 

The older boy pursed his lips in thought. He looked as if he was going to say something else, before shaking his head and deciding otherwise. 

 

Instead he offered Jeongin a friendly smile, “guess I’m eating along tonight. Don’t come back with a frown on your face again, okay?”  


 

“I’ll try,” Jeongin answered honestly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was listening to SKZ songs while writing this chapter and at some point, I kept getting their slow songs, which maaaaay have affected a part of how I wrote. I gained more inspiration for this story with this chapter tho, so I'm glad I got it done! Here's to hoping the next chapter comes sooner ~~like mate stop procrastinating~~
> 
> Huge thanks to the people who commented on this fic recently and made me regain the want to continue it as well!

**Author's Note:**

> (twt / ko-fi / cc: @stilljunhui)


End file.
